A big goal of On the Yahara is to serve as a hub for people with similar interests that want to further their writing skills. To help make this happen, we host several events throughout the year to offer our students and the general public the opportunity to get together and have meaningful conversations about the topics they care about in a fun and relaxed environment.
These “pop-up” events take place around Madison and surrounding areas—and some are even free! Our workshops are great for people at any point of their writing journey, whether you’re just starting out or just need a refresher course and inspiration.
And don’t forget to bookmark this page and check it often to find out where we’ll be next!
Urban Nature Appreciation
Date: November 4, 2019
Time:4:30PM to 6PM
Location: Lakeside Coffeehouse – Madison
Description: The urban nature appreciation class combines the essence of nature writing and an emerging new appreciation for the natural resources that surround us in the city.
Poem-A-Day: The Essential Guide (Online)
Date: November 5, 2019
Time: 6PM to 7:30PM
Location: Online
Description: Poetry in many ways is the ideal creative outlet for those who want to continue to write regularly but who have a limited amount of time available each day to set aside for creative pursuits. Why? Even though we might think of poetry as a difficult form, it doesn’t have to be that way. Once we break through a few myths and perceived difficulties, we can begin to see that poetry can be an efficient, spontaneous, low-pressure, high reward creative outlet, perfect for the busy creative. This is an online workshop. You will receive a link to the online classroom an hour before the start time to the email address you provide when you register. If you can’t find the email with the link, please check your spam folder. If you have any questions, please contact us at info@ontheyahara.com. You can access the online class via computer or cell phone with an internet connection.
Creative Non-Fiction
Date: November 8, 2019
Time: 4:30PM to 6PM
Location: Barriques – Atwood
Description: This class uncovers the secrets to writing engaging, meaningful, and even humorous non-fiction. First we will learn to differentiate creative non-fiction from other non-fiction genres by identifying the essential thematic strands that make up creative non-fiction works. We will then use what we’ve learned to create a plan for our own writing and decide which themes we want to pursue in our narrative. We will continue to implement our newly learned skills and work on answering the question “what are the necessary strategies to creating a daily or weekly practice of creative non-fiction?”
Writing Mindfulness (Online)
Date: November 12, 2019
Time:6PM to 7:30PM
Location: Online
Description: This class is an introduction to the profound connections between writing and mindfulness, specifically poetry as meditation. Mindfulness could be defined as one’s earned centered awareness in the present moment. There are many ways we can become more mindful in our lives and writing is one of the most essential and most efficient ways because it asks us to pay attention and center our energy on expression and the process of letting go. This is an online workshop. You will receive a link to the online classroom an hour before the start time to the email address you provide when you register. If you can’t find the email with the link, please check your spam folder. If you have any questions, please contact us at info@ontheyahara.com. You can access the online class via computer or cell phone with an internet connection.
Blog Serial Novel
Date: November 14, 2019
Time: 6PM to 7:30PM
Location: Barriques – Park St.
Description: In this class we will learn a set of essential rules for an incremental approach to novel writing, including scratch planning, finding plot momentum, picking characters to live with, maintaining themes, and adjusting attitude toward daily or weekly blog publishing. This class emphasizes with equal importance the benefits of maintaining a regular writing practice in modern times.
Creative Non-Fiction
Date: November 17, 2019
Time: 2PM to 3:30PM
Location: Sun Prairie Library
Description: This class uncovers the secrets to writing engaging, meaningful, and even humorous non-fiction. First we will learn to differentiate creative non-fiction from other non-fiction genres by identifying the essential thematic strands that make up creative non-fiction works. We will then use what we’ve learned to create a plan for our own writing and decide which themes we want to pursue in our narrative. We will continue to implement our newly learned skills and work on answering the question “what are the necessary strategies to creating a daily or weekly practice of creative non-fiction?”
Journal to Poem
Date: November 18, 2019
Time: 6PM to 7:30PM
Location: Rockhound Brewery – Madison
Description: This class offers an accessible and engaging nature writing process emphasizing the importance of place-based writing based on nature journal techniques. Within the process of observation, journaling, and writing, we will discuss and practice ways to demystify writing poetry.
Writing Mindfulness (Online)
Date: November 19, 2019
Time: 7PM to 8:30PM
Location: Online
Description: This class is an introduction to the profound connections between writing and mindfulness, specifically poetry as meditation. Mindfulness could be defined as one’s earned centered awareness in the present moment. There are many ways we can become more mindful in our lives and writing is one of the most essential and most efficient ways because it asks us to pay attention and center our energy on expression and the process of letting go. This is an online workshop. You will receive a link to the online classroom an hour before the start time to the email address you provide when you register. If you can’t find the email with the link, please check your spam folder. If you have any questions, please contact us at info@ontheyahara.com. You can access the online class via computer or cell phone with an internet connection.
Mary Oliver & the Art of Observation in Nature
Date: November 21, 2019
Time: 12PM to 1:30PM
Location: Common Ground Cafe, Middleton
Description: In this class we will introduce the poetry of acclaimed nature poet Mary Oliver and cover the essence of four different thematic techniques of observation which will greatly enhance our ability to write nature poetry spontaneously and regularly.
Poem-A-Day: The Essential Guide
Date: November 25, 2019
Time: 4:30PM to 6PM
Location: Working Draft Beer Company – Madison
Description: Poetry in many ways is the ideal creative outlet for those who want to continue to write regularly but who have a limited amount of time available each day to set aside for creative pursuits. Why? Even though we might think of poetry as a difficult form, it doesn’t have to be that way. Once we break through a few myths and perceived difficulties, we can begin to see that poetry can be an efficient, spontaneous, low-pressure, high reward creative outlet, perfect for the busy creative.
The Art of Writing Food: A Food Writer’s Monthly Workshop (Online)
Date: November 26, 2019
Time: 4:30PM to 6PM
Location: Online
Description: Monthly meetup for people who are interested in getting together with others that share their interest in cooking, recipes, food trends, and forms of food writing. We will draw inspiration from one of the great books of the genre, The Art of Eating by M.F.K. Fisher, an essential collection of her work that has established her over the years as a true pioneer of the food and travel memoir. Each meeting we will cover new facets of the food memoir as interpreted by a variety of food writers. We will learn about experiencing our subjects, considering research, describing recipes, introducing any of our writing, telling food stories, and maintaining style. We will discuss various platforms for recording and sharing our writing, such as journal entries, poetry, blog entries, social media, or article writing. Then we will get a chance to try what we learn by following the same techniques we find in the articles we cover, but in our own contemporary formats and voices. This is an online workshop. You will receive a link to the online classroom an hour before the start time to the email address you provide when you register. If you can’t find the email with the link, please check your spam folder. If you have any questions, please contact us at info@ontheyahara.com. You can access the online class via computer or cell phone with an internet connection.
